Novel: 5 centimeters per second

Up-and-coming filmmaker Makoto Shinkai has adapted his latest animated short series into his first novel. Takaki Tono and Akari Shinohara attend an elementary school in Tokyo. The two are always together, but Akari transfers away first, followed by Takaki. They hope to meet again before they grow too far apart. Eternity and moment intertwine and pour over them. Kanae Sumita, a third-year high school student living in Tanegashima, is preoccupied with Takaki, who has transferred to her school from Tokyo. For Kanae, he is her closest and most distant admiration. Summer passes for Kanae, filled with painful and wavering feelings. Takaki moves to Tokyo to attend university, has several loves, and loses them again. After graduating, Takaki gets a job at a software development company and becomes attracted to Risa Mizuno, whom he met at work. A collection of three heart-rending short stories centered around a young boy, exploring the changes of love and the wandering of the soul.